Parents Fight To Regain Custody Of Five Children From Child Services After Marijuana Found In Vehicle

As parents of five children were driving from Chicago to Georgia with their kids asleep in the vehicle, they were supposedly stopped by authorities for dark tint. They had also been accused of driving in the left lane without actively passing, reports say.

After this incident that occurred last month, with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the couple is now trying to regain custody of the children.

The father had been apprehended for possession after their car was searched and five grams of marijuana was located. That is a misdemeanor in Tennessee. The mother was given a ticket and was instructed to trail behind the patrol car to bond the father out.

While at the Justice Center for six hours, the five children, ages 4 months to 7 years old, were taken by the Tennessee Department Of Child Services.

Now, Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams, the parents, have hired a lawyer to help get their children back. They have called the agency’s actions “extreme, abnormal, and a violation of the parents’ rights.” They also feel that the couple wasn’t shown any leniency because they are Black.

Clayborne says someone from the agency got into her vehicle. As she reached to grab her weeping son, she was instructed not touch him because he was being taken away.

Records show that the DCS issued an emergency petition to have the children removed, citing neglect. After a review of records was conducted, it still isn’t clear why the children were taken from their parents.

Records provided to DCS showed that both parents were apprehended. In that instance, the agency would take the children. However, Clayborne wasn’t the one arrested, and the caseworker is said to have known that.

Although both parents are accused of testing positive for methamphetamine, fentanyl, and oxycodone, only Williams tested positive for THC. Because there are too many instances of false positives, those tests aren’t admissible in court. Additionally, when the parents were pulled over, neither parent showed signs of being under the influence.

“It is absolutely ridiculous when marijuana is legal in about half the states in the country. A Black family got five of their children taken away, put into DCS that is not doing a good job taking care of the children. They already have and they won’t give them their children back for a misdemeanor charge,” stated Tennessee Sen. London Lamar, at a press conference, on Thursday.